2020 Hyundai Santa FE owner complaints
218 complaints filed with NHTSA, including 14 crashes, 9 fires, 15 injuries and 0 deaths.
Problems by component
Forward Collision Avoidance14 Recent complaints
October 25, 2026Engine
Hyundai Dealership, Pedder Hyundai of Poway, applied recall 9C2 to 2020 Santa Fe on 10/20/2026. Vehicle idle is now rough at startup and gas pedal angle no longer is reliable for controlling vehicle speed. Engine surges and jerks during initial operation on residential street due to software change. The vehicle did not operate in this manner for the last six years. I never felt like I had erratic engine control due to gas pedal response. I would like this recall removed and the original software re-applied, or my car bought back by Hyundai.
October 20, 2026Structure
My incident relates to peeling paint on my white 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The paint has started to bubble, crack and peel off on the rear hatch of the vehicle. Hyundai has had issues with white color paint peeling off on a variety of their vehicles, across multiple years. Hyundai issued an extended warranty program (Z05) to cover the issue. I took my Santa Fe to the Hyundai dealer body shop near me to assess my peeling paint issue. While at the body shop facility I saw and took photos of multiple white Santa Fe's and Tucson's with peeling paint that appeared to have the same paint issue my 2020 Santa Fe is starting to exhibit. Both the Hyundai dealership body shop and Hyundai's Customer Care c
October 9, 2026Engine
The vehicle is experience severe, progressive engine oil consumption, completely depleting its engine oil below the safe operating limit ("Low" mark on the dipstick) every 500 miles. This creates an imminent risk of sudden engine seizure, catastrophic mechanical failure, and sudden stalling at highway speeds. The authorized dealers (Safford Hyundai Manassas) and corporate case management (Case #43193472) have failed to fix the issue after multiple visits. Furthermore, dealership service staff explicitly instructed me that I must continue operating the vehicle for an additional 1000 miles even if the oil falls below the safe "Low" limit to satisfy corporate test parameters. Forcing a consumer
October 9, 2026Fuel/Propulsion System
THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE SAME ISSUE ON THIS MODEL … I HAVE A CLAIM INTO HYUNDAI TO ALLOW MY VEHICLE TO BE REPAIRED UNDER THE SAME RECALL. This is a very dangerously problem and wish it to be investigated for the 2.0 Turbo as well. X Hyundai issued two main fuel-related recalls for the 2021 Santa Fe equipped with 2.5-liter turbocharged engines due to risks of fuel leaks and fires: & • Campaign 206 (NHTSA Recall 21V308000 / May 2021): The fuel pipe connecting the high-pressure fuel pump to the fuel rail may not have been tightened to the proper torque during manufacturing. Dealers inspected and retightened the connection for free. • Campaign 207 (NHTSA Recall 21V524000 / July 2021): Covering
October 5, 2026Service BrakesEngineFuel/Propulsion SystemCrash
I do not know what caused this. Here is what happened. While parking the car suddenly accelerated, over the curb, on the sidewalk narrowly missing the building because I turned hard right to avoid the building and I was able to brake to a stop glancing off a concrete pillar. We could have been hurt crashing into the wall/windows, anyone on the walk would have been hurt & anyone in the store could have been hurt. The car was towed to Hatchette Hyundai-East waiting to be looked at. There is no police report because it was private property and no damages except to my car. No warning lamps or messages. I remember 2 previous incidents that happened recently. While driving in normal city traffic,